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Is this song racist?

Is the song "Barack the Magic Negro" racist?


  • Total voters
    33

Psychoclown

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I've seen several folks use the song "Barack the Magic Negro" as evidence of racism on the right. So I figured it might be worth a poll all on its own. I only ask that before you post you actually click the link and listen to the lyrics of the song. If you think its racist, please quote the specific lyrics you find offensive. If you don't think its racist, then please explain what you think the intent of the song is.

I know the song was played on Limbaugh's show, but I don't want to get into a discussion on Limbaugh himself. I find Rush to be pompous, self important, adn grating so I have little to no interest in discussing him.

My thoughts on the song are on record elsewhere, but I'll post them here as well after I get a few responses.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5JFeaJ5A4g&feature=related"]YouTube - Barack The Magic Negro - The Authentic Version[/ame]
 
No, I don't see anything racist about it. It's not even really making fun of Obama...it's mostly making fun of Al Sharpton. And its criticism of Sharpton isn't based on his race...it's based on his silly racial grievances and his cartoon-like personality.
 
it is racial of course, but not hateful or intolerant of a race.

even if you would go so far as to say it is critical of whites for having a magic negro fantasy, that doesn't necessarily constitute racism either.
 
Not racist at all.
 
Nope, not racist.
 
who poses this kind of question:roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:
 
who poses this kind of question:roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:

A person who wants to know whether or not you think the song is racist. I thought that was obvious...
 
yes it is obveous but so is the awnser to the question just look at the title:doh:doh:doh:doh:doh
 
yes it is obveous but so is the awnser to the question just look at the title:doh:doh:doh:doh:doh

How about you actually LISTEN to the song before you decide whether or not it's racist.
 
to long on slow internet
 
Then don't comment.
 
It certainly plays into racial stereotypes, such as "real negroes" coming from the hood. Whether this is the author's viewpoint or his attempt at emulating and mocking Sharpton, I cannot tell.
 
to long on slow internet

So, you admit that you haven't actually listened to the song, and that your earlier comments were based upon nothing more than your asinine and presumptuous interpretation of the title?

Please, you're embarrassing yourself...
 
I don't find it particularly racist at all. I think it makes fun of some racial issues but as far as being racist, no. I got over my knee-jerk response to the words Magic Negro in college when it was one of the topics we discussed in world literature.

Is fairy godmother racist or agist because it is a little old white woman who does the same thing as the Magic Negro character in literature?
 
I think that this pretty clearly is just mocking Sharpton. The pictures certainly help put it in context though. One could be forgiven for just hearing it on Rush's radio program and not understanding that the real target isn't Obama.
 
Very amusing.
 
yes it is obveous but so is the awnser to the question just look at the title:doh:doh:doh:doh:doh

I wrote in the first post:

I only ask that before you post you actually click the link and listen to the lyrics of the song. If you think its racist, please quote the specific lyrics you find offensive.

Was it too much to ask that you be informed before you weigh in?
 
Like most of the folks who have posted here so far, I don't see the song as racist. In fact it mocks claims from race baiters like Sharpton that Barack Obama isn't "black enough" or as the song puts it "he's black but not authentically".

I think the song is pretty clear even without the images. If anything, if you took the song at face value, you could say its racist in that at face value it supports Sharpton's type of claims. But anyone who knows anything abotu Rush Limbaugh is going to know he's not on the same page as Sharpton on race.

It certainly plays into racial stereotypes, such as "real negroes" coming from the hood. Whether this is the author's viewpoint or his attempt at emulating and mocking Sharpton, I cannot tell.

Come on. Seriously? The voice even sounds like Sharpton. And the lyrics your mention are coming from two different places. The first section goes like this:

The guy from the LA paper
Said he makes guilty whites feel good
They'll vote for him, and not for me
Cause he's not from the hood

The second part you're refering to comes later ...

Real black men like Snoop Dog
Or me or Farakan
Have walked the walk and talked the talk
Not come in late and won

As for those who object to the title, the term Magic Negro is an established term refering to fictional characters in literature and film. Spike Lee (hardly a rabid racist) has even used the term.

[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_negro]Magical negro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

The term was first applied to Obama by a black writer for the LA Times. Read the artical for yourself.

Obama the 'Magic Negro' -- latimes.com

This song was produced in response to the article and other similar claims made by folks like Sharpton.
 
Funny how all the people who were crying how racist this song is haven't posted here.

I thought the song was racist, but I hereby retract that claim. I admit that I made assumptions because of my low opinion of Rush and his tendency toward inflammatory rantings of poor taste.
 
No vote
It may be racist, or it may not be; output from "low-life" is not funny, generally.
We do not need this kind of crap in our nation.
What we do need are the things to make our country better..
 
Is everyone aware of where the term "the magic negro" in reference to Obama originated?

Hint: not Limbaugh or any other conservative commentator.
 
Not remotely racist, it's making fun of Sharpton, who is a perfectly valid target because he's a race-baiting asshat.
 
Of course it is racist:(
 
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